Into the Miasma
by crossyourteez
Summary: The thought of him sends sharp spikes through me, and I hear myself gasp with the pain. I am halfway to crumpling on the ground when Kuronue takes hold of me and urges me to remain standing. He's asking why, and it's all I can do to shake my head, over and over again. I can't. I can barely breathe. Holy, what have I done to Kurama? Third and last in series. Read the others first!
1. Prelude

**Y'all. I am so bad at this "ending the story" thing. Here is the third and LAST (definitely the last) installment of the series that included _Against the Grain _and _With the Tide. _I just couldn't quit these characters, y'all. Warning: this one is going to hurt. Going deep into angst-land, people.**

**Returning readers! Please go re-read the preludes of ATG and WTT before you start this one. It'll set the tone of the story and will make this prelude make a lot more sense. First chapter should be out sometime tomorrow possibly. **

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><p><strong><span>Into the Miasma<span>**

_"But for us the road unfurls itself; we don't stop walking, we know there is far to go"_

_ -Denise Levertov _

Prelude

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><p>I never thought I would get this far.<p>

I am utterly spent. My silence, save the quick, desperate breaths, is more exhaustion than me holding out. Hiei sees my humiliation, his eyes like lit coals in the dark. Kuronue is kneeling next to me on the floor, urging me. The Undoer watches over all.

"I can't—"

"—You have to," Kuronue says in an urgent whisper. His voice is a quiet, tense backdrop to the pathetic sound of the blood screaming in my ears, the grief only punctuated by the words: That I can't; I cannot do this thing—I can't say it out loud. I know that the Undoer must be unimpressed, and I've lost everything and all hope of getting any of it back, but it's too much. It's far too much.

There is a grief beyond words. I know that now. Watching someone die for me. Losing my friends, my family, my love—and myself—nothing, _none of that_ compares to the final blow. It _must_ be the last cruelty. There is nothing worse than this.

"Tell me," the Undoer's voice booms; I know it's loud but it fades in and out like an old radio. "Everything at once. What is it you want to tell me? What happened? A single word, if that is all you can manage."

"You see," Kuronue whispers. The other is outside of us; Kuronue is a lifeline as I drown. "Just a few words. He'll settle for that. You don't have to say anything else. Tell him what you're _feeling._ Reina," his hand brushes hair away from my face, "It's almost over. I know you can do this."

Over. Almost over. My life has been a series of endings. Lives ending. Barriers dropping. A cycle of opening myself up further and further, finishing the last pieces of myself to put on display. For what? All of my efforts to open myself up to… what? And now, all of this—the story, everything—it feels so final. Most of me cannot speak because of the grief, but another part, a deeper and more honest part, is _afraid._

It's funny how, at the end of all things, your needs simplify. Before, I'd wanted a way to both protect and seek revenge. My needs had been complex and insatiable; they drove me forward when nothing else would. Later, just two feet to walk on—to get to the Undoer before I physically gave out. After that, the stories—I'd wanted to impress the demon who is now watching me fight this last unfolding, to win his assistance, and after that I just wanted to be able to speak. Now, it's very simple, and very clear:

I don't want to die.

How many times can you give of yourself before there is nothing left to offer? How long can bare bones face an open flame before they crumble into ash? How long can I peer ahead, trudge forward, before I fade completely into the miasma? I've left every piece of myself littered along the way, but I can't turn back. Not now.

The conclusion stuns me, and my breathing settles. The silence around me yawns wide and deep. It's waiting to consume every part of me. The Undoer is waiting. He's seen my unraveling to its very end. It is all I can do to lift my head and meet his gaze, still afraid, still trembling, but ready.

And I tell him.


	2. Dazed Days

**Thank you, **_**NanneroftheWE, Jessenia22, Mr. steve jr, wickedloveless, Beryl Bloodstone, **_**and **_**canibecandid**_** for your lovely reviews on the prelude! I never expected more than maybe one or two reviews on that and y'all made my day :) I hope everyone who is reading this is having a good new year so far!**

**(Friendly reminder that this is the third story in a series and probably nothing will make sense if you don't read them first!)**

**Speaking telepathically: When the person whose POV we're in is speaking, **_**their thoughts are just italicized like this. **_**When someone else responds to them telepathically, **_**'their voice is in single quotes and italicized like this.'**_

**Just a reminder for returning readers! Hope you enjoy this update! :)**

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><p>"<em>The only difference between an extraordinary life and an ordinary one is the extraordinary pleasures you find in ordinary things."<em>

_Veronique Vienne_

Dazed Days

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><p>I looked up from my hands as the bus I was waiting for rounded the corner. The middle-aged man who was sitting next to me folded up his paper and rose, stuffing it under his armpit. I rose as well, slinging my camera bag across my body—abruptly, I was hit with lightheadedness, and closed my eyes, breathing a large, exhaust fume-filled breath. The bus squealed to a halt and the doors opened. I waited for a few passengers to get off, and then lugged myself up the steps and inside.<p>

The doors on the bus hissed shut, and I just managed to grab onto one of the swinging handrails before it jolted into first gear. I cast a cursory glance around the interior of the bus, but there was no room for me to sit, and certainly not enough room for me _and_ the camera bag that was swinging from my shoulder. I shifted my weight a little and tried to make myself comfortable, my free hand coming down to hold my bag steady as the bus ground into third.

The dizziness I had felt earlier abruptly came back with a vengeance, and with it, my stomach turned.

_Oh dear,_ I thought.

'_What is it?' _The answer from Kurama was quick and sounded concerned.

I smiled a bit at the sound of Kurama's voice, glancing up at the crook of my elbow. With my free hand, I tugged the quarter-length sleeve of my cardigan towards my wrist, to hide the scarred mark that remained there. The mark, done by accident almost two years ago by Kurama (well, Youko… it's a long story,) connected our minds on a telepathic level and allowed him—when necessary—to gain some insight into how I was feeling, what I was thinking. While he kept his distance (regardless of how close we were; I didn't appreciate having my mind perused without my knowledge;) on occasion, he would "check in—" not really read my mind, but look into things on a superficial level. Just the thoughts that I mentally vocalized; not the ideas and emotions behind them. It was basically the same as a normal conversation, except it all happened mentally.

'_Reina?'_ he tried gently.

_It's… nothing. _My stomach turned; I swallowed a couple times, and readjusted my grip on the hanging strap above my head as my mark thrummed with energy. _Had to stand on the bus today. Getting kind of carsick._

'_You cannot sit down anywhere?' _he asked worriedly. I closed my eyes briefly and could see him sitting at his computer, his fingers hovering over the keyboard in complete stillness. I frowned.

_Hey, you need to be working. _I opened my eyes and looked at the interior of the bus again. There was the tiniest sliver of cracked pleather next to a woman in her 70's, but most of it was taken up by her shopping bag. I grumbled about the bag inwardly, but really, it _was_ too big for her lap. She already had her purse situated between her feet on the floor.

'_And _you _need to not be vomiting on that poor old woman, even if it would make her vacate that seat,' _Kurama teased. As I sighed, the woman looked up. I was able to glance away before she made eye contact, but it was too late.

"Miss? Young miss," she said, and I turned my head towards her again. My surroundings whirled sickeningly, and I swallowed again. The woman hefted her shopping back off of the seat and deposited it on the floor, then patted the now opened seat next to her.

"Oh, no I couldn't—" I started to protest, but she shook her head and smiled.

"You look pale," she said, touching her cheek with her fingertips, looking at me in a worried way. She scooted over again, indicating the stretch of seat next to her.

I blinked rapidly, clearing my vision, and smiled before sinking into the seat next to her. "Thank you. Guess I got a little carsick…" I rested my fingers on my throat, trying to quell the nausea. The woman nodded knowingly, and dug around in her purse, passing a peppermint to me. I thanked her and popped it in my mouth.

'_What a kind woman,' _Kurama noted approvingly.

_Stop distracting yourself, worrywart._

'_I love you too.'_

I smiled a little at his taunt. _I love you. I'll see you tonight._

"Where are you going?" the woman asked me. I tuned to her, smiled with a little more enthusiasm (the peppermint was working,) and replied:

"I'm a photographer. I'm headed to the Shinto temple just outside of town for some clients who are having their child do an Omiyamairi."

"The first temple visit," the old woman said thoughtfully, smiling at the word. She actually snorted. "We Japanese are born Shinto, marry Christian, and die Buddhist." At that, I laughed with her, and when it trailed off, she settled back into her seat, staring at a spot on the ceiling with a fond smile on her features. "I remember doing that for my children. All four of them. Now they have children of their own." She nodded to the bag on the floor between us. "My granddaughter is about to have her first... She is about your age, married young. I'm going to make her meals for her freezer, so she will not have to cook when the time comes."

"That's very sweet of you. Your granddaughter must be thankful for such a generous grandmother," I said warmly. She flapped a hand at me.

"I am a mother," she said simply.

She left the bus on the first stop; I helped her get her grocery bag off the bus before returning to my seat. I wanted to crack open a book I'd been reading, something Maya had pulled for me at the library where she worked, but figured I shouldn't risk getting sick again and left it in my camera bag. I made a mental note to pick up some mints at the corner store on my way back home.

I had to walk a couple blocks to get to the temple, and when I arrived, the family was waiting just inside of the gate. We exchanged hellos and I took a couple portraits outside while we waited for the ceremony to begin.

The parents were dressed simply; the mother in a skirt and blouse; her husband in a suit. There was a pink, flowered ceremonial kimono draped over the child while she slept in her father's arms; it was secured behind her father's back by two straps. I soon learned that this was part of the tradition; as was the ruffled collar that furled up around the child's face.

"This is the kimono my mother used when she brought me to my first temple visit," the child's mother said as she fidgeted with the collar. "The collar is my sister-in-law's."

"And I wrote the kanji," the father said, smiling down at his child. The kanji character for "small," or "modest," stood out in thin red lines on the baby's forehead, and it crinkled slightly as she yawned.

A Shinto priest, dressed in an orange robe and wearing a pointed black hat, greeted us warmly at the entrance of the temple and gestured for us to follow along behind him. We deposited our shoes at the door and, the kimono wrapped around the baby girl fluttering slightly, entered the surprisingly cool interior of the temple. I lingered in the back, grateful that the temple was also (again, surprisingly) well lit. I didn't want to have to use the flash during the ceremony.

The priest knelt at the altar—which had several items on it, including a bowl of stacked oranges and a glass in which appeared to be sake. He knelt silently at the altar for a moment, his head bowed and hands on the tatami mat next to his knees, and then abruptly began to chant. I couldn't understand him, but heard the names of my clients—including their little one—intermittently throughout. All the while, I walked around the exterior of the ceremony place, snapping pictures of the priest, the family, and the items he used in the ceremony. The child remained silent until he picked up a stick with bells on it—a tool used for driving out evil—and shook it in her face. Her father, who was holding her, rocked her underneath her flowery ceremonial kimono, and she quieted as the priest concluded the ceremony.

"I'll have your digital copies ready in a couple weeks—I'll send you an email when the CD ships out," I was saying as the father finished strapping his now-sleeping infant daughter into her car seat.

"I look forward to it," the mother said with a warm smile, and then—startling me—gave me a quick hug. "Thank you."

I patted her awkwardly on the back as her husband looked on. "You're welcome… Your family is beautiful."

I waved goodbye to them as they pulled out of the parking lot, and then made my way to the bus station.

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><p>It started to sprinkle as I strode towards the store near Kurama's and my apartment, and the bells overhead jingled as I ducked inside, fluffing my hair with one hand.<p>

"Good afternoon!" the teller called, smiling at me. I waved back wordlessly, and sent a mental question mark to Kurama.

_Noodles, soy sauce, toilet paper… _I picked up a basket and started making my way to the back of the store. As I walked, I turned into the "family planning/feminine products" aisle and paused to get a box of tampons, casting a cursory glance over the contraceptive and pregnancy test section. _Need anything from here?_

'_I certainly hope not,' _Kurama teased. I snorted and pointed at a box of condoms, sending the mental image to him.

'_We don't need more as of yet,' _he answered. _'We do need freezer bags, though. I decided to grow some red onions…'_

I stifled a groan.

'_There isn't any soil on the floor; I vacuumed,' _Kurama protested.

Because Kurama and I weren't exactly well off (even with him working full time and me holding two part time jobs as a gymnastics instructor and photographer,) we ate a mostly vegetarian diet. It took him very little energy to sprout vegetables in our home from seeds, and when he did so, we diced them up and froze them for later use. This way, we basically ate for free (save the cost of the seeds…) however, when he went on a sprouting spree, soil and leaves always ended up on the floor.

'_Canned food for the cat,' _Kurama added. _'And batteries for the laser pointer.'_

Jinx, my cat, never ceased to amuse Kurama when he went after the ever-evasive red dot. We had to buy batteries at least once every couple months, because he never grew tired of it.

I made my way around the store, filling the basket with everything we needed, and then, after checking out, hefted the paper bag out the door and down the next few blocks between the corner store and our apartment. The drizzling had petered off into a fine mist by the time I'd made my purchases.

Kurama met me at the bottom of the stairs, and lifted the bag from my hands before I could protest.

"How was the shoot?" he asked conversationally as we made our way up the stairs.

"It was good. The kid was cute and the weather behaved," I said as I readjusted my camera bag strap. "Good, steady, overcast weather." I found that a layer of cloud cover made for better pictures—if it was sunny, the contrast would be too stark and people liked to squint besides. "How was work?" He worked at his stepfather's stock trading company; pretty boring work that involved crunching a lot of numbers. He enjoyed the complexity, though I had to wonder just how happy he was in his current position. After he'd been in the job for a while, Kurama (though he had initially refused to go to college) saw the benefit in taking a few business and economics classes. He assured me that the correspondence courses he was taking now would secure him a promotion by the end of the year. Maybe at that point his work wouldn't be as mind-numbing as it appeared to be now.

"We gained a few new clients," Kurama replied with a shrug as we made it to our floor. I stepped past him, pulling my keys out of my camera bag. "One of them was making poor decisions with his portfolio and I steered him onto a more lucrative path…

"Botan stopped by briefly," he added as he set the bag on the kitchen counter. I spun around in surprise.

"Really?"

"And she had this…" He pulled an envelope out from behind his back and raised it slightly over his head, grinning evilly at me. I ran over to him and stretched on my toes to reach the letter as he lifted it just beyond my reach.

"Not fair," I huffed, trying and failing to snatch it. "Don't flaunt your height privilege!"

"Pay the toll," Kurama ordered, smirking, and I rolled my eyes and pecked him on the cheek. He chuckled and shook his head, bending down to me. "Now that just won't do," he murmured against my lips. I grinned and deepened the kiss. When we separated, I had the letter in my hand, and tore it open with a fingernail.

"It's from Kuronue, _finally_," I said as I hopped up on the countertop to sit and read it. "How long has it been since we last heard from him? Six months?"

"He's busy, organizing the patrol in Makai," Kurama said lightly. He opened the package of noodles I'd bought and began to run water into a pot.

"Yeah, he says that Otake is riding his ass," I said, shaking my head at my friend's misfortune. I continued reading. "He also says that he picked up some seeds you might be interested in. Can't send it through the mail for obvious reasons…" I read the next paragraph in silence, and then grumbled under my breath: "Well, fuck."

"What?" Kurama asked over his shoulder.

I heaved a sigh and slapped the letter with the back of my free hand. "He isn't coming topside for the camping trip at Genkai's. He's too busy. Bastard," I grumbled. "This is the _third_ time he's backed out on trips, holidays… and this time he didn't even come up with an excuse. He just dropped out!"

"I know you miss him," Kurama said gently, "but Kuronue _is_ a demon…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" I grumbled. "You're a demon."

Kurama dried his hands and put the lid on the pot he'd just placed on the stove, then turned to face me, leaning against the sink with a wry smile. "Makai is his home, Reina. Full-blooded demons feel… more in their element there."

"And you don't?"

"My home is with you," he said with a slight smile, and shrugged away from the sink to wrap his arms around me. "Kuronue is still finding his place. Remember, he only _just_ got his body back a couple years ago. It will take him some time to feel comfortable travelling away from home."

"Yeah, but…" I murmured into his shoulder, the letter crumpling loosely in my hand, "Even _Hiei_ is going to be in town for the trip. He probably won't go, but he'll still be around…"

"Well, how else is he going to monitor Yukina and Kuwabara?" Kurama laughed, releasing me slightly to grin down at me. I quirked a small smile at that, and stared unseeingly at the letter.

"You really think that's it, though?" I asked, defeated. "That he just feels… better in Makai?"

Kurama kissed my forehead and didn't answer.

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><p>Kuwabara attended the senior high Gai Tech in Mushiyori, and was in his last year there. I was still at U-High's sister university, and both of these schools were, luckily, very close to each other. Our class schedules only aligned on Thursdays though, but we always made a point to have a weekly meet up. (Yukina usually accompanied him as well, now that she was living with him and Shizuru.) Most of the courses I took were correspondence courses like Kurama's, but there was one, a photography lab, on Tuesdays and Thursdays that was only available on-campus from 7:30 till noon.<p>

Both Yukina and Kuwabara were waiting at a table outside the coffee shop we usually met at, and, once she spotted me, the tiny demon waved with a bright smile, tapping Kuwabara's arm to get his attention. I beamed at them and sat in the empty seat at their table, settling back with a sigh.

"Hey, Sparky—got your favorite," Kuwabara said, pushing an iced coffee at me. "Before you get mad, I used my punch-card. Every punch gets me closer to that grande butterscotch latte," he said with a grin and a fist pump. Yukina and I exchanged a loaded glance and devolved into a puddle of giggles.

When it was over, I sighed and leaned over the table. "I've got bad news."

"Oh no," Yukina said sympathetically.

"Kurama came out?" Kuwabara asked with a smirk. I frowned at him.

"Kuronue isn't coming this weekend," I said, shrugging and sipping my coffee. "Says he's too busy or some such nonsense."

"He's probably sick of campin' out," Kuwabara pointed out. "He does a lot of that in Demon World already."

"Yeah, but is he too sick of seeing friends that he hasn't seen in over in a _year?_" I grumbled. While it had been two years since Kuronue had taken the job with Reikai, a year ago he _had_ managed to get away long enough for a week-and-a-half long visit around my birthday last September. But after that… nothing.

"It ain't personal, Sparky," Kuwabara said kindly.

"He'll come around," Yukina added with a sympathetic pat on the back of my hand. "Send him pictures of our trip in your next letter. Maybe if he sees them he'll come on the next one."

"Maybe…" We all sipped our drinks in thoughtful silence. "So, heard from Yusuke and Keiko recently? Haven't seen them since Yusuke's 18th last month." **(1)**

"Yusuke rented a different street corner for his ramen stand," Kuwabara said. "Gettin' a lot more business because of that."

"Keiko got her student teaching assignment," Yukina said brightly. "It's a small elementary school 30 minutes outside Nakayama. She starts in August."

"Good, we can bond over juggling the little snots," I said with a chuckle, swirling the ice cubes around in my cup. I wiped my hand free of the condensation on the knee of my jeans. I shook my head. "Kids, though."

"Kids," Yukina echoed with a small smile on her face. Kuwabara blushed and started coughing into his sleeve. Oh, these two…

"And when are you two moving out here?" I asked slyly, winking at the already flustered Kuwabara.

He surprised me by brightening up immediately. "Soon. I'm getting a TA job at the university. Yukina wants to start helping Shizuru out at the salon she's gonna open…" Kuwabara looked at Yukina dubiously, and I smiled knowingly. He was so worried about her constantly—how she would handle herself in Ningenkai, around people who weren't "in the know."

"I was joking around, but I'm glad to hear that!" I said. "It'll be good to live a little closer to each other." I checked my watch. "I've got to be at the gym in 40; got a class to teach. It's middle school kids this time." I made a face, and Yukina laughed. Before I left, we finalized some plans that needed to be made about our trip, and Kuwabara and I bade each other good luck on our finals.

I worked Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Saturday at the gym, and scheduled my photo shoots between schoolwork and gymnastics classes. It kept me pretty busy, so I spent most of my free time editing pictures. I was slowly but surely making my way towards becoming a full-time photographer; once I had my associate's in photography in hand (with a minor in business,) I would very likely take the plunge. Gymnastics, while it kept me in shape, was just a job to make ends meet. I didn't have a passion for it like I did with photography. But it was a form of specialized work I could do, and it helped Kurama and I out enough to make it worth my time.

As I was changing in the gym's locker room, the dizziness from yesterday hit me again.

I sat on one of the metal benches by my locker and focused on breathing slowly. Eventually, I bent forward until my head was between my legs.

_Hey, Kurama, _I tried. Even my mental voice sounded miserable.

A moment later, he answered. _'Yes?'_

_Go get some iron supplements on your way home. I'm feeling dizzy again and I think we're out. _

'_Of course. Does it feel like you're about to…?'_

I shook my head very slowly. _No; there aren't any cramps. _

When Kurama and I had moved in together, I tried getting on the pill. I'd been on it for a year when some unsavory symptoms reared their ugly heads. Now, even a year after I'd gotten off of them, my periods were still not back on track, and when they came, I would feel dizzy, nauseated, and tired. My last cycle had ended well over a month ago, and while I wasn't getting any other symptoms… the lightheadedness was a typical precursor to my period. And iron supplements helped.

'_Will you be all right?' _Kurama asked worriedly.

_Yeah, I'll just get some water; eat a granola bar or something._

'_Let me know when you're on your way home.'_

I smiled. _Will do. Love you._

'_As I love you.'_

When I got home, Kurama, bless him, was waiting with a couple rented movies, ice cream, and iron in pill form. I rolled my eyes and reminded him that I wasn't on the rag yet, but he cleverly responded that I didn't need to be for him to treat me. With that said, we curled up on the couch with our cat and enjoyed a quiet night at home, together.

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><p><strong>(1) In the manga, Yusuke returns from Makai a year earlier than he said he would—he said he would come back when he was 18, but ended up coming back at 17. So, now that it's been a year since Yusuke returned in this fanfiction series, he's turned 18, not 19 :P<strong>


	3. A Greater Good

**Aaaand we're back!**

**Many thanks to my lovely reviewers, **_**Kactuskat16, Emzybubble, deathangel1630, Jessenia22, Beryl Bloodstone, NanneroftheWe, Mr steve jr, **_**and **_**canibecandid! **_**Your positivity and kind words warm my heart! **

**On my Tumblr, someone asked a very good question—whether or not this story took place before or after **_**Gravity.**_** Just to clear things up, **_**Into the Miasma **_**takes place a very, very long time before the events of **_**Gravity.**_

**Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>"<em>I do not care about happiness simply because I believe that joy is something worth fighting for."<em>

― _Criss Jami_

A Greater Good

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><p>I woke to a warmth pressed against my forehead. A smile broke across my face before I had even opened my eyes, and I turned my face towards Kurama unseeingly. He flipped on the lamp at my bedside table, and I groaned.<p>

"Why won't you love me?" I grumbled. He laughed and bent down, kissing me despite my horrific morning breath. I pushed him away and sat up, squinting at him sleepily. He was already in his polo and khakis, his shoes dangling from his fingertips.

"How are you already dressed?" I groused. Casual Friday dress, but still…

"Would it make you feel even more inept if I mentioned that breakfast is already made?" he asked lightly. My answer was another groan bordering on mournful keening, and he laughed. Jinx jumped up on the bed and headbutted me, and Kurama walked out of the room. I gave the cat a few good scratches behind the ears and rolled out of bed as well, rising to my feet. I blearily stumbled into our only bathroom to take care of the morning necessities.

Kurama had to go to work today (though only until noon,) and I didn't—so I was entrusted with packing enough clothes and food for us to last the weekend. His stepfather had brought over a couple sleeping bags earlier this week, so my job was a little easier. Which is why I saved some online homework to do today; I knew I would have the time for it.

After breakfast, I waved Kurama out the door as he carried his bike to the stairwell, and set to work, cleaning the kitchen and organizing what we would need to bring. I packed a few seed packets along with our clothes—Yusuke would no doubt turn his nose up at the veggies, but they were coming anyway.

I'd just managed to finish my homework when I heard Kurama's footsteps, and rushed to open the door for him, flattening my back against the wall so he could get through with his bike, which currently resided on hooks, front wheel up, in our hall closet. When Kurama placed it there, he looked me over and laughed. "Ready to go, I see!"

"Our train leaves at 1:30," I replied, flapping my hands at him, one of the sleeves on my rolled-up flannel shirt coming loose and settling around my forearm. "Get dressed!"

"Converses?" Kurama asked when, as we were leaving, he saw my choice of shoe. He snorted. "Not the best shoe for hiking…"

"These guys literally saw me to hell and back," I retorted, grinning. "They'll do."

I was of course referring to my (mind you, _unwilling) _trip to Makai two years back. When the former demon lord Yomi ordered my capture, Kurama thought that he was using me as a pawn to manipulate him into Yomi's service. But it was in fact much more than that… at the end of my journey home, after I'd escaped from Yomi's compound, we'd discovered that Reikai had used me as a psychic inhibitor, of sorts, to hold Yusuke's demonic heritage at bay. At my birth, they had connected our auras, and since my power was geared towards defending me from demonic attacks, physical and mental alike; it automatically suppressed Yusuke's demonic energy.

During that trip Kurama, after losing control of Youko, marked me—injecting his demonic aura directly into my system. This had me on the brink of death, because my energy, already spent from being in Makai for nearly a year, had exhausted its reserves in an attempt to eject his aura from my body. Reikai had given me two choices—have them negate the mark, and become their Next Spirit detective with my newly recovered powers, or bind my powers and keep the mark. Unwilling to play right back into Reikai's hands, I'd chosen the latter—something Koenma certainly didn't appreciate. I smiled a bit as I thought over that again.

Yusuke was the first to spot us at the Mushiyori train station, and waved. "Hey, slowpokes!" I grinned and flipped him off, and he roared in laughter, coming out of the shade of the station to greet us. He clapped Kurama on the shoulder and quite literally lifted me off of my feet in a hug—only setting me down when I implied, in a breathless squeak, that oxygen _was_ in fact necessary for my continued survival.

Almost everyone was there—Keiko, Yukina, Kuwabara, and Yusuke—and Yana, with Maya trailing along behind him, walked up a couple minutes later. Botan would meet us at Genkai's. Tomorrow morning, we would leave the temple; and hike our way through her land, eventually making our way down to the beach where we were going to set up camp.

Shizuru all but rolled her eyes when we'd asked her to come; same with Kaito. We'd tried to get Kido to come along as well, but he went to a university in Tokyo and so the trip was a bit out of the way for him.

_Demon World is even _more_ out of the way, _my mind traitorously pointed out, and I frowned.

"Why the long face, short stuff?" Yana asked, bending down to grin in my face. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You're one to talk," I snickered, and Maya laughed into her hand. Yana shot her a faux hurt look, and she shrugged.

"Well, you kind of _do…"_ she said, and he threw up his hands and made a show of pouting and stalking off. Both Maya and I rolled our eyes in unison, and burst into a fit of giggles.

We all got our tickets and made our way onto the train (Kuwabara bringing up the rear naturally, having stopped at the food court as always.) Yusuke and Kuwabara slid into the self-facing bench seats in our compartment first, both having immediately laid claim to the window seats—then their girlfriends went in next. And Kurama and I slid in next to Yukina and Kuwabara; Maya and Yana taking the other side.

"Poor Botan," I said with a grin, glancing around the compartment. "Poor thing's going to be a 9th wheel…" Kuwabara almost spat out his mouthful of tuna sandwich, and Keiko pulled a wry smile.

"You're right, Sparky," Yusuke chortled. "Even tall, ginger, and ugly got a girlfriend… Botan's going to feel _real_ special!"

"Urameshi, you dick—sorry 'kina," Kuwabara spluttered, glaring daggers at his friend across the compartment's fold-out table.

"Y'know, if Hiei shows up…" Yana mused. I exchanged a quick, amused glance with Kurama, and he sighed, shaking his head. An amused smile tilted up a single corner of his mouth.

"_That's_ a crack pairing I want to see," Maya added.

The compartment was filled with thoughtful silence.

"I ship it," I decided.

We all laughed at the thought of that, and in the next couple hours it took for the train to travel to its destination, we settled into a light, easy banter that passed the time very quickly. In the year that had passed since Yusuke had returned from Makai, things had been much like this—we weren't able to hang out as often as we used to (especially since things like the apocalypse, etc., weren't forcing us together for survival anymore,) but when we did, it was effortless. There wasn't a looming threat over our heads anymore, something that was really the very _reason_ we had all become friends. But our friendships had lasted beyond our trials, into the mundane existence that had become our lives.

On occasion, I would get that feeling again. That feeling of a lack of fulfillment—of inaction. Kurama knew and understood whenever I grew silent and thoughtful. On occasion, I would mourn the loss of my powers. That didn't really happen anymore, though—this was my life now. It was still filled with things that were sometimes too good to be real. This family was one of them.

* * *

><p>Botan had already arrived at Genkai's when we (after an hour-and-a-half bus trip) reached the bottom of the endless staircase that led up to her house. She came floating down on her oar when we were about halfway up, and graciously slung our backpacks on the end of it as she flew next to us, chatting about anything and everything as only she could do.<p>

"No Kuronue, huh?" she asked me at some point, and I snorted, looking up at her.

"You don't even sound surprised," I pointed out. "Says a lot, huh?"

"Don't worry dear," she said in her unruffled, chipper tones. She flapped her hand at me. "He'll come around. He's just overworked and trying to figure out where he belongs, that's all."

He'll come around. Why did everyone keep saying that? Come around from what, exactly? It wasn't that hard… yeah, he was a demon, and Makai was his home. But I was his friend—his _best_ friend; he'd admitted it himself. If our roles had been reversed I'd come back to visit at every opportunity…

Something in my expression must've given away what I was thinking, because she bent down to muss my hair. "He'll come around," she repeated, and I wrestled a smile on my face.

Genkai greeted us at the top of the stairs with a smirk, and Yukina immediately rushed up the last few steps to hug her. She returned it halfway with a bemused expression, but didn't say anything negative or recoil—because really, how could anyone do that to Yukina?

"What a motley bunch," she grumbled, but there was an unmistakable twinkle in her eye.

"Hey, Grandma," Yusuke said as he reached the top of the stairs. He stretched and grinned, not even remotely out of breath. "Got any food? I'm here to mooch!"

"Starve," she shot over her shoulder as she turned to walk back to the temple. I could hear the smile in her tone, though. We followed her inside, all depositing our shoes and backpacks on the porch. I dug around in Kurama's and mine, pulling out a couple packets of seeds and handing them off to my botanically talented fiancé and mate. I could smell food in the kitchen already, but I figured it wouldn't hurt for us to contribute at least _something_. I mean… Yukina and Kuwabara had gotten some groceries for her and brought them in their backpacks, but still…

That night, a video game tournament commenced. I lasted until I was paired up with Kuwabara, and Kurama lasted until he had to fight Yusuke. Eventually, it all boiled down to Yusuke and Genkai, the latter of whom was the reigning champion.

"Arrrg, you old bitch, NO!" Yusuke bellowed as his player was pinned down by Genkai's and quickly lost half of its remaining HP.

"I've got arthritis in every joint, nook, and cranny and _this_ is all you've got?" Genkai cackled, her fingers flying over the controller as if they belonged to hands that were half a century younger. Yusuke was standing, jumping on one foot, and his face was a mask of screwed-up concentration. There was, if I wasn't completely mistaken, sweat beading his brow.

After a couple more minutes of feverish playing, Yusuke burst out: "This is _all_ you do up here, isn't it, _Granny?"_ Genkai simply smirked and said nothing, refusing to be distracted. Behind me, I could hear Kuwabara and Yana exchanging bets. Both were fighting over who had to bet on Yusuke's win, and I snickered into my hand. Poor thing. He didn't stand a chance against the video game-savvy hermit that was Genkai. There _was_ probably some truth in what he said—I mean, what else could Genkai do for entertainment up here by herself?

Naturally, Yusuke was soundly beaten (though not as soundly as he'd been beaten last time—he'd been practicing) and he promptly insisted on a three-way sparring match between him, Kuwabara, and Kurama to vent his frustration. Kurama said he would prefer to referee, and Kuwabara agreed readily—so with that, we all tramped out into the cool July night to watch it go down in the courtyard outside Genkai's temple. In the corner of my eye, I saw Yana puffing out his chest and making as if to join them, but Maya talked him down.

But, as they were just about to begin, Yusuke straightened up and peered into the darkness. Kurama followed suit, and Kuwabara made a disgusted noise.

"Hey, short stuff!" Yusuke called. "Quit lurking and come fight!" His voice echoed in the trees, and it was met with nothing but silence. I saw him grin, and he raised his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice once more: "You know I can drag you out of your tree if I want… better come down and save yourself the humiliation."

One distant and quiet "Hn" later, Hiei dropped out of the sky, landing in a slight crouch and straightening leisurely. His red eyes almost looked black in the night as they flicked over our small gathering. Yukina strode out to meet him with a wide smile.

"The food should still be warm inside, Hiei," I heard her say. "I can put on tea…"

Hiei muttered something to her that I couldn't hear; of course, it didn't sound rude, but it was probably him declining the offer anyway. I glanced over at Maya and saw her quite literally gaping at Hiei—I walked to her side and pressed a finger to her chin, closing her mouth. She blushed and stuttered an apology.

I could get why she was staring, though. Even though we _did_ have three demons in our midst, Hiei was really the only one who looked the part. I had to admit that it _was_ strange seeing him here—yes, I'd seen him once or twice in the past couple years, but the last time we'd exchanged any words had been in Makai, where he had absolutely been in his element. Here, he looked uncomfortable—he'd replaced the bandage around his Jagan eye (something that had been missing in Makai naturally) and seemed far more reserved than he had in that forest in Mukuro's territory years ago. And I don't think Maya had ever really _met_ Hiei anyway, so…

I grinned and walked forward, down the porch steps into the courtyard, pulling out the disposable camera (one of three) that I'd bought for this trip. I raised it to my eye and pointed it at Hiei and Yukina.

"Smile!" I ordered, and Yukina turned, beaming. The best I got from Hiei (the best I would ever get, really) was him actually looking into the lens of the camera. The flash went off, and he blinked a few times, frowning. I dropped the camera from my face and said lightly:

"If Kuronue ever drags his useless ass topside again, I'll send you a copy, Hiei," I promised with a disarming smile. While he didn't look _particularly_ displeased with the idea, he simply jerked a nod of acknowledgement in my direction and averted his gaze once more.

Yusuke walked over to him and clapped him on the back. "So, lemme guess—you want to fight the winner?"

"If you present a challenge," Hiei retorted.

"Hey! I might win!" Kuwabara protested. Hiei simply fixed him with a long stare, complete with an eyebrow raised a fraction.

"Might," Hiei echoed, his voice dripping with disdain, and I couldn't help but snort.

Naturally, it only took Yusuke a few minutes to lock Kuwabara in a back-breaking hold, from which he was released by Kurama's ten-count. He didn't lose badly like he used to, though—both he and Yusuke were laughing themselves breathless by the end of it.

Now, Hiei (sans his ever-present trench coat) and Yusuke stood across from each other, Yusuke grinning from ear to ear—his hair a little messed up from the scuffle with Kuwabara—and Hiei fixing him with a dispassionate stare. He'd also left his sword, along with his coat, with Yukina. She held it in her lap and traced her fingers over the metalwork on the hilt.

"One…" Kurama said.

"Get 'em, Yusuke!" Kuwabara bellowed.

"Two…"

"Don't snap a _single_ tree on my property, understand?" Genkai grumbled.

Kurama looked at them both, a slow smirk easing its way onto his features, and dropped his hand partway. Yusuke stumbled forward, and then caught himself, laughing, and flipped Kurama off for tricking him into a false start. I saw Hiei bare his teeth slightly, though it wasn't an entirely unpleasant expression. His eyes glittered in the dark.

"_FIGHT!"_ I shouted, and, before I could blink, both of them disappeared in a cloud of dust. I could hear an ominous creaking and groaning in the trees surrounding Genkai's temple, and saw the tops of them, silhouetted against the full moon, swaying back and fort. Kurama turned, grinned at me, and then disappeared as well.

"Sonuvabitch," Kuwabara grunted, before bolting, much more slowly, into the forest as well. "Wait up, you bastards!" He too disappeared into the darkness surrounding the temple.

I plopped down on the steps in a huff. "Damn it, that's one I really wanted to see…"

"I hope they don't get too badly hurt…" Yukina said softly, her fingers frozen on the hilt of Hiei's sword.

"Aren't there demons in those woods?" Maya asked worriedly.

"Yeah, and their names are Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke," I replied, lacing my fingers behind my head and grinning up at her. "There's nothing out there that can even scratch them."

"But Kuwabara's human," Yana pointed out. Judging from his frown, I could tell he still felt a little slighted after not being included in the initial sparring match.

"A human psychic who can cut through dimensions," Keiko said with a little smile. "They'll be fine!"

"Well, _I'm_ going to go watch," Botan decided, her oar materializing in her palm. "Who else?"

Keiko, Maya, Yukina, and myself all looked at each other as Botan eyed us expectantly, and I shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's been a while though, so don't do any barrel rolls or anything, okay?" I stood and brushed off the seat of my pants. After travelling mostly with Jin while I was making my bid for freedom in Makai, my fear of heights had been thoroughly squashed. There was, however, a difference between being completely incased in a very capable and secure demonic bear hug, and balancing myself on a several-inch-wide stick.

"No promises," Botan sang as she hopped up on the oar. She patted the wider part, and I shot her a stern look before clambering up behind her. She sat sidesaddle, but I took no chances, hugging the oar with my thighs and all but squeezing the air out of Botan's lungs with my arms.

"Better go, before I change my mind—!" On the last word, Botan kicked off, and we sailed fifty feet into the night air within a span of just a couple seconds. I was quite proud of myself for managing to not shout in fear, but felt the familiar dropping sensation in the pit of my stomach as we spiraled even higher, sailing over the tops of even the highest trees. We sailed southwest, where the trees were swaying, and soon the trees thinned into a small, rocky valley. Botan dove a little to get a better look, and I squeezed my eyes shut as she did so.

"Look!" she called out finally, and I opened my eyes. Below, several black blurs darted among the boulders strewn throughout the valley; I heard a great _CRACK_ as one of them split in two with a cloud of dust. Then: a streak of red—Kurama closely refereeing the match. Just a few moments later, I saw (and heard) Kuwabara run into the fray with a whoop. We edged a little closer to the ground, and disembarked on a rocky outcropping. I strode to the edge and flopped down, my feet dangling, and peered into the valley below. The moonlight made it easy to see, so I was able to watch as Yusuke and Hiei blurred over the rocks, exchanging blows, the occasional curse, and laughter. (The last being from Yusuke mainly, but I could've _sworn…)_

As we watched, I was once more blown away by how _fast_ demons were. It was especially uncanny to see Yusuke letting loose all of his energy—and even to see _Kurama_ this way. Because both of them lived in the Human World now, there weren't many opportunities for them to "operate" at their full capacity—and I could understand the giddy, almost relieved laughter floating up from Yusuke's blurred form.

"I haven't seen them this… _happy_ in a long time," Botan noted, echoing my thoughts.

"Yeah," I mused. Then I kind of sobered a little. _I've got to wonder how happy you all are, _I thought, projecting my words out to Kurama. _Y'know. Being tied down to Ningenkai. You're all really enjoying yourselves down there._

'_My home is with you,' _Kurama reminded me simply, his thoughts drifting up through the night air. With them came reassurance, and the warmth of his love. I averted my gaze to my folded hands and smiled.

When they started heading our direction, I stood and backed up to give them space. First Yusuke, then Hiei, then Kurama simply leaped up onto the ridge, Yusuke still all but wheezing with laughter, Hiei looking far less disgruntled than normal, and Kurama looking quite windswept and slightly disheveled from keeping pace with the two of them. Kuwabara clambered up the side of the ridge and laughed:

"So, who won? I must be gettin' rusty because all I could see were blurs…"

"It was a tie," Kurama informed him with a slight smile. "Which is quite surprising, considering how much time Yusuke has spent in his ramen stand, eating the merchandise…" Yusuke swiped at him with fake rage, and Kurama dodged it easily with a laugh.

"C'mon, let's head back," Yusuke said, dropping an arm around Hiei's shoulder. "Which one for you tonight, Hiei—the fifty footer or the hundred? I hear a very mean family of squirrels lives in the second one…"

Yusuke and Kuwabara continued to tease Hiei about his habit of sleeping in trees for a few more minutes as we walked through the forest, and then suddenly Yusuke and Hiei stopped short. The former turned to Kurama and grinned.

"First one back gets what's left of the s'mores I can smell them cooking," he uttered, and then, along with Hiei, disappeared.

I knew what was coming, so stayed very still and squeezed my eyes shut.

Kurama slung me over his shoulder, and I hugged him for all I was worth as he hurtled through the trees.

"Poor Kuwabara!" I had to yell over the wind.

"Botan is bringing him back," Kurama answered, pointing up. Trusting him, I didn't look up to try to find them in the night sky—not wanting to risk motion sickness. At my right, I heard Yusuke let out a shout as we passed him. Hiei would obviously be _very_ far ahead of us, but Yusuke being behind us was something that shocked me. I chanced a glance over my shoulder, and immediately regretted it.

I managed to keep myself together as we broke free of the tree line, and saw that Hiei was just a couple paces ahead of us, and Yusuke the same length behind us. I wriggled, and Kurama let me down so I could bolt back to the tree line and try to _not_ void the contents of my stomach.

"I got stuck in a marsh," Yusuke grumbled, his footsteps backing up his story with a wet suctioning sound. "I demand a rematch, Red… hey, Sparky, what's up?"

I lifted a hand over my head with a "thumbs up" gesture, still sucking air into my lungs like a dying fish.

'_Reina?' _Kurama tried, but I flapped my hand at him wordlessly.

"Dude, don't mess around with her head while she's tryin' not to barf," Kuwabara, who had obviously made it back without my noticing, said worriedly.

Eventually, it passed, and I straightened up, coughing once. I turned and smiled.

"I guess the immunity I got against motion sickness was left behind in Makai," I said wryly, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry. I know that wasn't pretty…" I spotted Yusuke, and grinned. "Though far more pretty than Yusuke is right now… it looks like a swamp ate you and then spat you out."

Most of the mud was restricted to the waist down, but he did have a couple spots on his cheek, which he rubbed off with the heel of his palm.

"Genkai will _murder_ you if you walk into her home like that," Botan said with a giggle.

Yusuke shrugged, and unbuttoned his jeans.

"I'm gonna be sick again," I said abruptly, turning and fleeing for the temple, Botan following me closely. I could hear Kuwabara and Kurama roaring with laughter as Yusuke took chase.

"Come give me a _hug,_ Sparky!" he bellowed as he bounded up the steps. I screamed and bolted into the temple, ripping off my shoes in record time and skidding on the floor as I rounded the corner to the kitchen. I lost my balance and landed on my hip, as Yusuke went sailing over my head. He spun around, and I could see that he was now _just_ wearing underwear and socks, and I scooted on the floor behind the kitchen island, snatching a pot from a cabinet before rising and pointing it at him.

All the while, Maya, her boyfriend, Keiko, Yukina, and Genkai—who were seated at the island—stared at us silently. Keiko's mouth was open and moving as if she were trying to find words but couldn't.

"Briefs, Yusuke?!" I pointed the pot at Keiko. "Really? Keiko, did you know about this? _Briefs are always unacceptable._" She shrank back and blushed.

Yusuke, who was closer to the wall than me, grinned evilly and slunk forward a step. I turned the pot on him, raising a hand to block my vision of his entirely _too_ tightly encased nethers.

"They're _boxer_ briefs," Yusuke corrected, and attempted to sneak around the island. I scuttled to the opposite side, still wielding the pot.

"There is _not_ enough boxer in that boxer-to-briefs ratio," I retorted, my hand still aloft, blocking my view. "I've seen boxer briefs. Those are _not_ boxer briefs!"

"_O-oh, _where have _you_ seen boxer-briefs, Reina?" Yana asked snidely.

"Where do you think?" Kurama asked pleasantly as he walked into the kitchen—closely followed by Hiei, who stopped in the doorway and settled a particularly vicious glare on Yusuke's entirely too bare form.

"_What?"_ Yusuke asked, and then his gaze flicked to Yukina, and back to Hiei. "Oh. Okay, okay, going…" He eased out of the room to find his backpack and a change of clothes.

"Is he gone yet?" Botan's muffled voice came from behind the pantry doors. I rolled my eyes, set down the pot, and let her out.

"What was _that_ about?" Keiko asked, looking between the two of us.

"He fell into some mud, and decided that stripping and chasing us was a good idea," I replied, sitting on a stool next to Genkai. "Hiei, I don't suppose you want the s'mores you won?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a no," I said with a smile, and plucked one of the three remaining from the pan on the counter in front of me.

"So who won?" Maya asked.

"The race? Hiei, of course," I answered between bites. "The fight was a tie."

Yukina was looking closely at Hiei, a pucker between her brows. I glanced back, and saw that his lip was split.

"Hiei…" she said gently, edging out of her seat. She grabbed a dishtowel, wet the end of it, and offered it to him. He looked down at it in a confused sort of way, before she added: "Your lip."

He touched it, looked at the scant amount of blood on his finger, and took the towel with a muttered but sincere-sounding: "Thank you."

To take the focus off of him, I struck up a conversation about tomorrow's itinerary, letting Hiei and his sister have their moment. We would head out early tomorrow morning, and hike out to a canyon about 15 miles out. It would take us, with all the humans in tow, most of the day. Then we would make camp, spend the night, and hike out the next morning. When Hiei was asked (by Yukina, so he responded as pleasantly as he could) if he was going to come with us—he simply shook his head.

Yusuke was all for another video game tournament, but we decided to turn in early so we could actually, y'know, leave in the morning on time.

* * *

><p>"Yusuke, get <em>up!"<em>

Keiko's exasperated voice floated into the kitchen, where the rest of us—already ready to go, just having breakfast—were standing around. Maya and I exchanged eyerolls over our coffee, and Kuwabara snorted. Then, we heard Yusuke shouting something indistinguishable, and Kuwabara perked up.

"She's got his ear," he said after a moment of listening.

A second later, Yusuke came stumbling in, saying "Ow, ow, ow," in an increasingly high-pitched voice as Keiko marched him into the kitchen—by his ear—and deposited him at the island on the stool directly across from me. I leaned over the granite countertop and grinned as he shot one last glare at Keiko and yawned.

"I'm just glad she gave you a chance to put pants on," I laughed, and held out the saucepan I'd used to scramble eggs in. He rolled his eyes and forked a helping on his plate.

"I'll start moving things out on the porch," I said, shrugging away from the island and patting down the hallway. I stopped at Yana and Maya's room first, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over one shoulder, and his on the other. I'd made a couple trips—the last being Yusuke's room—when I realized that Yukina was standing by the gate in front of the temple, talking to someone. I frowned and walked along the porch, and once I did so, Hiei came into view. Genkai was with them as well.

Yukina bowed once to Hiei, and turned to walk back into the courtyard. Genkai pulled a lever near the gate, and the door slid shut with a low groan. She came up onto the steps, and seemed to notice me only then, her eyes widening in shock. She didn't quite smile though—and because of that, I could tell that something was wrong.

"What's up?" I asked gently.

Her mouth opened, and then she thought better about what she was going to say, and started again:

"Hiei… he came here to tell me that he couldn't find my brother," she said in a subdued tone.

"Oh." The familiar sensation of guilt, coupled with a smattering of frustration aimed at her brother, made my mouth turn down a little.

"He tried to return the tear gem," she added quietly. "My mother's tear gem, that I gave to him. I thought… I thought that it would help."

Yukina had told me, shortly after she returned, that every time a koorime gave birth—once every hundred years—they would shed a tear for their child. Because Yukina was a twin, her mother had shed two—and the second was given to Hiei before he was cast off the floating island. Yukina, not knowing that Hiei was her brother (and probably, though I didn't know for sure, was still in possession of his hiruseki stone,) had entrusted him with her own stone, in hopes that he would someday find a demon who wore the other.

"Tried?" I asked.

"I told him to keep it." Her ruby eyes flicked up to mine, and they were dark. Then she breathed a sigh, and headed inside before I could say anything more. A few moments later, Kurama exited the building, looking over his shoulder at her. He glanced at me, and breathed a sigh as well.

"Why does he keep hurting her like this?" I asked. My voice was very quiet—with anger, and sadness. If Yukina knew that her brother had been here, with her, protecting her all this time… she could finally stop mourning him. She would be happy. _Doesn't Hiei want her happiness?_

'_Yes. He thinks it's better this way; you know that.'_

_But is it?_ I looked up at him, and there was no answer in his gaze or his thoughts.

* * *

><p><strong>Can I just say again how much I <strong>_**love**_** writing Yukina? She's going to be a pretty big deal in this installment, which I'm super excited about!**

**Thanks again for your reviews everyone. I love hearing from you! (Hint Hint :D )**


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